1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for applying solder balls.
2. Description of the Related Art
In particular, the present invention deals with an apparatus for applying solder balls to a substrate for remelting the solder balls on soldering points of the substrate.
Such apparatuses serve for the production of contact metalizations, and typically include a laser light source for emitting a laser beam, a reservoir with a supply of solid-state solder, which is subsequently simply denoted as solder balls, a protective gas source, a capillary, with which the solder balls are supplied from the reservoir to a free end of the capillary, typically with assistance of the protective gas carried under pressure, and a controller with which the apparatus for applying solder balls is positioned opposite the substrate or substrate support, or a chip with overlaying substrate support, whereupon a solder ball is supplied to the free end of the capillary, a controller then making the laser light source heat and remelt the positioned solder ball with a laser beam.
Such systems are exemplarily known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,977,512 and from WO 95/00279.
Such apparatuses for applying and remelting solder balls are frequently used in the production of contact metalizations on flexible substrate materials or in the production of solder bumps on soldering points of a flexible substrate support. Here, it may come to misplacements of the solder ball opposite the desired soldering point.
It is the object of the present invention is to further develop an apparatus for applying solder balls of the kind mentioned above, such that the reliability in the production of solder joints is further increased.